Pickled Brits

Ah the Brits. Love it or loathe it, it tends to deliver plenty of memorable moments. For those with longer memories, Sam Fox’s and Mick Fleetwood’s calamitous compèring, Jarvis Cocker’s moony protest and John Prescott’s involuntary ice bucket challenge (way before that became a thing). To more recently, a favourite of mine, Madonna’s tumble.

To celebrate BRIT Awards Day, the Mustard team has collated another Top 10 countdown.

This could be a double A-side with Crowded House’s “It’s only natural”. Discussing products, brands and service experience through chat platforms is absolutely normal behaviour. Unlike, it could be argued, sitting in a viewing facility for 90 minutes with a bunch of strangers. People naturally share their stories in bite-sized pieces via mobile devices. The conversations and evidence gathering are already taking place. This isn’t a step into the unknown, it’s where it’s at.

Our Smartphones are always there. As Incognito sang – to please you, when I need you, to love you, thinkin’ of you. Surveys as well as user-data has proven that for many people our phones are one of the first things we look at in the mornings and one of the last things we look at in the evening. And in between, they are always there, on hand to capture life’s moments as they happen.

Pickles allows us to catch THE moments in-the-moment. No more relying on recall. We “live moderate” experiences too, so we are (virtually) with people whilst the moments happen. Real-time research within real-life research contexts.

Pickles includes all the features and functionality you would expect from an app that offers Instant Messaging. This includes the opportunity for market research participants to send through photos and videos. We’ve seen inside LOTS of fridges and cupboards, watched many customer review mini-Vlogs, and had people sending us photos live from supermarkets, airports, pubs and hospitals.

Once our participants have been recruited and have downloaded the app, we can send them push notifications to their phones. So they know if there’s a task or mission to complete, if a new discussion thread has been posted, or if one of the Mustard moderators (or fellow participants) have replied to one of their comments. This in turn leads to faster and higher levels of engagement.

Using a Pickles methodology means we are not restricted to a window of consultation as with traditional groups or depths. We receive feedback around the clock, non-stop, at the convenience of those taking part. When something comes to mind our participants can log-it – regardless of what day of the week or time of the day (or night) it is.

We have had excellent feedback from our research respondents that Pickles is really easy to use. The user-interface feels very familiar to other instant messaging apps (such as WhatsApp). Instant messaging is one of the biggest growth areas on terms of Smartphone usage, and the team continually scans the latest developments to ensure our app is up there with the best of them.

Since we launched Pickles in 2017 we have even surprised ourselves at its versatility and different applications. We have used it for pre-group “tasks”, asking shoppers to visit specific categories in different retailers. We have used it for senior consultants to share the “highs” and “lows” of their days juggling NHS, private practice and busy family lives. We have used it to capture live feedback on ad campaigns. We have used it for event / expo attendees to share their visit experiences. Sometimes stand-alone, sometimes in conjunction with other methods, Pickles can, pretty much, be used for whatever you want.

Not quite yet chart-topping in the App Store, but Pickles is creating a buzz and is often the first thing we’re asked about. People love shiny new technology, not because it’s new but because it’s often better. Respondents love it – it’s easy, convenient and gives them scope to “play detective” and be creative. Happy respondents, happy moderators, happy clients.

Any other song suggestions you think we missed? Feel free to suggest your own through the usual social channels.

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Mustard, 3rd Floor, 56 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 6HS, United Kingdom. Mustard is a trading name of Mustard Market Research Limited, registered in England and Wales with company number 06706816. VAT number GB 945 6312 15.